


Pink Camellias and People Watching

by jae_hhoney



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Cute Ending, Fluff, M/M, People Watching, This Is STUPID, doyoung helps tho, its more implied that they'll go onto date, jaehyun is lowkey a creep but he doesn't mean to be, jaeyong is in there for exactly 0.2 seconds, jungwoo is anxious and in a bad headspace ngl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 19:13:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14817255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jae_hhoney/pseuds/jae_hhoney
Summary: Jaehyun was always an observant person. Being introverted left you time for that, anyways. You didn't speak much, and no one spoke to you for that reason, and he supposes that at some point he became an outside observer. It's not that he felt especially ostracized by his peers, he had friends, but he would rather keep quiet otherwise. Jaehyun was what you would call a people watcher, and what Ten described as a creepy ass motherfucker.





	Pink Camellias and People Watching

**Author's Note:**

> Legit wrote this in two hours and Jaehyun is kinda creepy but not really, it's just that he eavesdrops a lot

Jaehyun was always an observant person. Being introverted left you time for that, anyways. You didn't speak much, and no one spoke to you for that reason, and he supposes that at some point he became an outside observer. It's not that he felt especially ostracized by his peers, he had friends, but he would rather keep quiet otherwise. Jaehyun was what you would call a people watcher, and what Ten described as a _creepy ass motherfucker._  
  
The subway was hectic, and Jaehyun blended in more than normal. Out of all the people rushing by, the whirl of colors, the stream of voices hitting his ears, the variety of people he saw, he's not sure what drew his eyes to this one man.  
  
The man in question was large, but shrunk in on himself as if trying to appear smaller. He often sat hunched, picking at his nails, or reading rough, seemingly well-loved, books. He had a pretty face obscured for the most part by shaggy, silver hair. By all means, apart from the hair, he wasn't someone that caught your eye. From his plain clothes to his quiet demeanor he was someone your eyes would glaze right over by default.  
  
So Jaehyun couldn't explain.  
  
Perhaps it was the kind eyes that seemed to observe like Jaehyun did, or the gentle smile that flashed whenever he found his novel amusing. But Jaehyun thinks it's his lips.  
  
They were pouty, and coral pink, and bitten and picked at to a painful extent, nearly raw. He winced as he watched the man pick at them, a droplet of blood releasing onto his finger. The man simply raised an eyebrow once he noticed the scarlet, and undoubtedly tasted the metallic in his mouth, obviously used to it.  
  
Jaehyun had also always been unnervingly empathetic, even if he couldn't voice it. This was no different, and he found himself worrying about what was going on in this boy's head that could make him like this. He appeared younger than Jaehyun, and already anxiety ridden, his worries an invisible burden. It appeared to Jaehyun that this man was Atlas, and struggling to carry the world on his shoulders.  
  
All Jaehyun could do is observe.  
  
•••  
The seasons changed, and the man didn't. He still sat in the same spot across from Jaehyun, still seemed to read the same books with the exception of a few new ones, and still made his lips bleed. It was summer now, and the only thing that had really strayed from the norm was the lighter clothes the man now wore.  
  
Jaehyun had never much enjoyed changes in his life. Stability was a must, and generally he was quite inflexible. But the man never seemed to change anything and it was almost worrying. Jaehyun wondered if he took comfort in the static. There are a few things in life you can truly control. Amidst a maelstrom even a single piece of driftwood can be reassuring, and he was willing to bet anything that man was holding onto it with a white-knuckled grip. It was in his eyes, the constant fear of something Jaehyun hasn't figured out. He found himself wondering whether it was tangible or the monsters that hid in the man's head.  
  
•••  
Jaehyun liked security, but maybe some changes could be a good thing.  
  
Jaehyun sat in his usual seat, and so did the man. It was nearly autumn, and the man had switched out the plain shorts and t-shirt for a cardigan. His roots had grown out, and he was finally reading a new book, The Picture of Dorian Gray he believed. His lips still coral pink with vicious red splotches, and he was still hunched in on himself.  
  
The train had lurched to a halt to pick up another load of passengers, and Jaehyun braced himself for the influx of people. Person after person rushed by, and Jaehyun just gazed at the sunset, and the man never once looked up from his reading.  
  
Jaehyun thinks it was that day that set off a chain reaction.  
  
It was within the next twenty seconds that Jaehyun heard a startled yelp from in front of him. His head whipped around, and he was greeted with an...interesting, and certainly out of context sight. Jaehyun figured that the yelp came from the man, and a bit of shock coursed through him seeing as this was the first noise he had ever heard him make. It appeared as if another man had tripped on his way to sit down...and ended up nearly caging the man against the wall to break his fall. The silver-haired boy was obviously startled, book fallen, and his eyes wide. He looked as if he had been forcibly ripped from his own head, chest heaving, and tension high.  
  
The new man was looking on with astonishment as well, and Jaehyun soon found out the reason.  
  
"I would ask if it hurt when you fell from heaven, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that it's me falling for you, both figuratively and literally."  
  
Jaehyun nearly giggled as he looked on with interest.  
  
The man shook the silver hair out of his eyes, rosy pink filling his cheeks. He was silent for a good ten seconds, and that doesn't sound like a lot, but in these situations time is crucial, before opening his mouth. The man's voice was soft, and airy, and he imagines that's what it would sound like if a cloud could speak. It was very fitting.  
  
The man seemed absorbed in his own thoughts again, thin hand reaching up to lightly caress the new man's face, as if entranced.  
  
"H-has anyone told you that you look a bit like a rabbit?"  
  
Shy boy: 1, New guy: 0  
  
•••  
Jaehyun felt a bit like he was watching a romance movie unfold before his eyes, and he would by lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.  
  
His own love life was nearly nonexistent, and college had lost it's glamour by sophomore year, and so this was his only source of entertainment.  
  
The new man, who he had since learned was named Doyoung from maybe eavesdropping a bit, was now a fixture on the train.  
  
Doyoung did, in fact, look like a rabbit. Jaehyun thought it was something in his smile. He was a well-kept man, with wide, dark eyes that almost seemed like they would swallow you in, and sharp features, and was completely enamoured with the other man (who he now knew was named Jungwoo).  
  
Doyoung had taken it upon himself to woo, no pun intended, the other man in any way possible. Jaehyun overheard him telling more terrible pick-up lines, asking Jungwoo about his day, and even resorting to asking to play twenty questions (was he stuck in highschool?). And Jungwoo was shy, it wouldn't be easy to take him out of his shell, and tried to act exasperated, but his affectionate smiles would give him away in an instant.  
  
Jaehyun was glad that someone was finally getting Jungwoo to open up, and it was like watching a flower bloom.  
  
•••  
Jungwoo had a mouth on him, Jaehyun soon learned.  
  
It had been a few months in the making, and Doyoung's resolve hadn't wavered, and Jungwoo was steadily becoming more involved.  
  
Soon, whenever Doyoung tried to flirt Jungwoo had a comment to say back, and Jaehyun was astonished by what a smart-ass the boy could be.  
  
"You really do look like a bunny."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
Jungwoo set down his book, and Jaehyun looked away to pretend like he wasn't listening. "Yes, and you're very twitchy, so you remind me of the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland." Doyoung good-naturedly rolled his eyes, giggling to himself. "In that case you must be the Queen of Hearts, because I would do anything to make you happy."  
  
"Off with your head, asshole."  
  
Doyoung made the ugliest sound that day.  
  
Jungwoo: 2, Doyoung: 0  
  
•••  
In October they exchanged numbers, and he knew that Jungwoo had finally cracked.  
  
•••  
In November he overheard that they had gone to a movie together, and Jungwoo flushed as Doyoung teased him about being so scared of a movie about a porcelain doll.  
  
"Well you certainly weren't complaining when I held your hand because of it."  
  
"Touche."  
•••  
It was later that month that it happened.  
  
It appeared to be your standard day on the subway, with Jaehyun scrolling through Instagram, and the couple subtly flirting, flitting around the point like birds in a crowded pavilion. Or so he thought.  
  
Doyoung appeared to be the more forward out of the two, but it was Jungwoo who initiated this.  
  
"C-can I kiss you, please?"  
  
Jaehyun heard, and nearly muttered a finally to himself. He didn't even have to look, wouldn't have anyways, for the sake of their privacy, to know that Doyoung nodded, and judging by the barely audible sigh from one, or both of them, they had been waiting for a long time.  
  
Jaehyun quickly glanced up, and he saw something that warmed his heart.  
  
For the first time since he had been observing him Jungwoo's lips were like pink camellias, the blotches of rose finally gone.  
•••  
That wasn't to say there weren't bad days. There were some that Jaehyun worried again, that his stupid empathy made a reappearance.  
  
There were days that it looked like someone put the weight of the universe on Jungwoo's back, and Doyoung didn't look much better. Jungwoo's teeth were gnawing at his lips, and Doyoung's eyebrows were furrowed with concern.  
  
"Hey, look at me, please," Doyoung said gently. "First of all, stop doing that, we don't need another split lip." Jungwoo obediently, but reluctantly, let his massacred bottom lip go. He looked on the verge of tears, and Jaehyun couldn't help but want to know what could've happened today.  
  
"I'm not gonna tell you to calm down, because I know how anxiety is, and I know that that'll only make it worse," Doyoung murmured, his thumb gently rubbing over Jungwoo's knuckles. "But I will say that I'll help you through this, and I promise I'll stay till it's all ok again."  
  
Jungwoo just nodded, and inched closer to Doyoung. Jungwoo was a surprisingly tactile person, Jaehyun had noticed, and Doyoung was right there to pull him in by the waist, and place a butterfly kiss on his forehead.  
  
Jaehyun was glad they had each other.  
  
•••  
From there it seemed like the months flew by. November became December, and New Year's came and passed. It was around July that they discussed moving in together, and they were the happiest couple Jaehyun had witnessed to date.  
  
All Jaehyun could see when he saw them was pink camellias, and bunny smiles, and it was glorious and satisfying in the way that a particularly good romance novel is.  
  
Jungwoo still had off days, and sometimes still looked like he carried the world on his shoulders some days, but Doyoung was there to share the burden. Doyoung looked at Jungwoo like he lit the stars in the sky like fairy lights, and painted the nebulas, and Jaehyun had no doubt that if asked Jungwoo would try to for him. Jungwoo held Doyoung like he was the most precious thing he'd ever had, he held him carefully, and caressed with feather light touches. Not because he was breakable, never fragile, but simply because he deserved it, and was something to be treasured.  
  
Jaehyun was glad he was an outside observer, because seeing people happy was one thing that would always be amazing.  
  
•••  
"Hey, Woo?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
A hitch in breathe, and an audible grin in his voice.  
  
"I love you, too. I think I always will."  
  
•••  
  
Then the incident happened.  
  
_ChittaPHATTIE: so you're telling me that you've been watching_ _a_   _couple for nearly a year u creep_  
  
_me: look I just overheard shit hop off my dick and go back to sucking off Johnny_

 _ChittaPHATTIE: are they at least happy together u weirdo_  
  
_Me: very, it's p heart warming ngl_  
  
Jaehyun shut off his phone, and reached for his textbook to try and get the reading, when he spotted Jungwoo.  
  
He looked terrible, quite frankly.  
  
The poor boy looked as if he had been in a tornado, and then dropped into a hurricane right after. His lips were bitten raw, skin uneven, and patchy, and his nails were bitten down to the beds. His eyes and nose were both alarmingly red, and Jaehyun had to say something, because he looked like he would burst into turns within the next millisecond.  
  
"Are you ok?" Jaehyun questioned cautiously.  
  
Jungwoo jumped at the sound of someone else's voice, and looked up towards Jaehyun with the same startled look he had given Doyoung on that fateful September day.  
  
"Not really."  
  
Jaehyun were surprised by the bluntness, but he and Jungwoo both knew there was no point in lying. Jaehyun wasn't quite sure where to proceed from there.  
  
"Uh, well...let me cut to the chase. Dude, you look terrible, is there anything I can do?"  
  
Jungwoo paused, contemplating. "Well, maybe just listen to what I have to say? I have a lot of pent up emotions at the moment, and I'm not sure it's healthy to not say something."  
  
Jaehyun nodded to signal for Jungwoo to proceed.  
  
"Well, I have a boyfriend, as you probably know, seeing as you're here everyday, and we fought. He hasn't been around much lately, and my best friend said that he saw him with a girl, and so one thing lead to another, and I accused him of cheating, and I'm really not sure if he was, but god everything's ruined, and he hates me-"  
  
Jungwoo cut off, tears streaking down his cheeks, and Jaehyun may have panicked for a moment, before deciding to just wrap an arm around his shoulders.  
  
"Hey, it's gonna be ok, man, I'm sure he doesn't hate you. And maybe there's an explanation to him not being around, jumping to conclusions doesn't help. I recommend just talking to him more about it."  
  
Jungwoo didn't respond, but Jaehyun saw him nod, so that's good enough for him.  
  
It escaped Jaehyun's attention, but the train had stopped a moment ago, and someone had entered.  
  
That someone was tall, with a rabbit smile, and perhaps looked even worse than his boyfriend.  
  
"Jungwoo!"  
  
Jungwoo shot up like a rocket as soon as he heard the voice, and was surprised to see his boyfriend there, looking out of breath.  
  
Jaehyun slowly backed away because he may be a people watcher, but this was their moment, and he does have boundaries.  
  
In the commotion he made, Doyoung managed to attract that attention of other people as well, so Jaehyun wasn't the only one that breathed out a gasp when Doyoung dropped to his knees, and pulled out a small box.  
  
"Jungwoo, I love you."  
  
"You know I love you too."  
  
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."  
  
Jungwoo was about to respond but Doyoung motioned to keep quiet till he was done.  
  
"Let me start over, she's my cousin, we've been close since we were kids, and she was helping me with something very important." Doyoung opened the small box, to reveal a modest, but lovely silver band, with a small diamond in the middle.  
  
Jaehyun was already smiling so hard his cheeks ached.  
  
"Jungwoo, I haven't known you for long, only a year, but I know you're the only one for me. From the moment I saw you, and that was an interesting moment, I'm not sorry for falling on you by the way, because if I hadn't I wouldn't have met you- anyways, from the moment I saw you, I was so enamoured by how beautiful you are, and I only fell deeper once I got to know you." Doyoung took his hand, squeezing it earnestly, but gently. "You're kind, and funny, and loving. You're creative, and intelligent, and so, so amazing. I'm not gonna say you're perfect, because you're not, and neither am I, but I will say that I'm in love with all of you, including your flaws. I can't imagine a life without you."  
  
Jungwoo was in tears, but smiling through it, squeezing Doyoung's hand right back.  
  
"So please, marry me, so I can take care of you when your anxiety hits, so we can have a thousand more movies nights, and scold Donghyuck when he almost sets our kitchen on fire again."  
  
Jungwoo let out a watery giggle at that one.  
  
"Our lives are so hectic, and it's cliche, but it's completely alright as long as I have you next to me, telling me how much I look like the white rabbit. So, Kim Jungwoo, will you marry me?" Doyoung concluded.  
  
Everyone knew what the answer would be, but waited with baited breath anyways.  
  
"Of course, you idiot."  
  
And from there Jaehyun is convinced that their lips didn't separate for a good two minutes.  
  
The train car erupted in applause, and both men smiled into the kiss, Doyoung blindly slipping the ring onto Jungwoo's finger.  
  
"It's cute isn't it?"  
  
Jaehyun turned to see a small man his age next to him. And damn he was pretty.  
  
"Defi-"  
  
The train at that time lurched forward, and Jaehyun barely caught himself in time, nearly landing on the man. They gazed at each other for a moment before Jaehyun breathed out a relieved laugh, saying the first thing that came to his head.  
  
"I would ask if it hurt when you fell from heaven, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that it's me falling for you, both figuratively and literally."  
  
The man let out an unattractive snort, and pushed Jaehyun away from his body so he could get up, brushing his red hair away from his eyes.  
  
"Woah, Casanova, aren't you going to introduce yourself first?"  
  
"Ah, right," Jaehyun said sheepishly. "Jung Jaehyun, 21, SM University, literature major."  
  
"Lee Taeyong, 22, dance major, SM University."

**Author's Note:**

> Dowoo outsold smh btw my Instagram is @chittaphattie


End file.
